Amelie Alcantara fired a three-under par 69 to help Florida Gulf Coast University to a team score of one-under par 287 and an eight-stroke lead at the Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo.

After a brief start to the opening round, a long period of rain and lightning delayed the restart of play for over three hours. The Eagles were able to fight through the wet conditions after the restart to hold a lead over Bradley (295), Austin Peay State (298) and host Missouri (299).

"Under the conditions, our team played very solid golf," said FGCU head coach Shannon Sykora. "We're looking forward to tomorrow."

A junior from Ocala, Florida, Alcantara started her day on the third hole and took advantage of the two par-5 holes on the front side. Alcantara played steady golf until a bogey on 13, but she would respond with a birdie on 18 to regain the dropped shot. She would finish her round on the second hole, draining a birdie to move into a tie for the individual lead.

Freshman Islay Benoit recorded the first birdie of the season for FGCU with a birdie on the fifth hole. In her first collegiate event, the freshman from Pensacola would record four birdies and three bogeys for an opening round of one-under 71 and a tie for fifth place.

Sitting at four-over par heading to the 14th hole, Leonie Wulfers rebounded with five birdies in a row to get back into red figures. While the junior from Germany would drop two strokes coming in, she would still fire a one-over par round of 73 to sit in a tie for eighth place individually.

Posie Farrelly dropped a shot on the first hole before the delay but played steady golf after the restart. The senior from Lutz would finish with a two-over par round of 74 to sit in a tie for 14th place. Joining Farrelly in the tie is Lousiane Gauthier, who birdied three holes on the back side to sign for a two-over 74 as well.

Competing as an individual in her first collegiate event, Sydney Deal joined Alcantara in a tie for the individual lead with a three-under par 69. The Perrysburg, Ohio, native recorded one of the two eagles the course gave up Monday, making a three on the par-5 10th hole. While Deal made three bogeys, she also notched four birdies to hold onto a share of the lead.

Monday's rain delay has forced a change in the tournament to two rounds and 36 holes. The final round will commence at 8 a.m. CDT.
 

Team (Top 5)	Score
1. FGCU	287 (-1)
2. Bradley	295 (+7)
3. Austin Peay	298 (+10)
4. Missouri	299 (+11)
5. Illinois State	300 (+12)

 

Place	FGCU Individual	Score
T1	Amelie Alcantara	69 (-3)
T1	Sydney Deal*	69 (-3)
5	Islay Benoit	71 (-1)
T8	Leonie Wulfers	73 (+1)
T14	Posie Farrelly	74 (+2)
T14	Lousiane Gauthier	74 (+2)

* - Playing as an individual